There has been much attention on the Saudi Pro League in recent months and that is about to be taken up a notch as we have the Riyadh Derby between Al Hilal and Al Nassr this week.
We must only go back 12 months to find a time when there was little interest in the Saudi Pro League worldwide but that has changed dramatically since the arrival of some big name players.
All reactions were made 🙌🏻👈🏻👉🏻👌🏻🫵🏻#AlHilal 💙 pic.twitter.com/bjkjvU1YGF— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) November 25, 2023
All reactions were made 🙌🏻👈🏻👉🏻👌🏻🫵🏻#AlHilal 💙 pic.twitter.com/bjkjvU1YGF
Both teams have been active in the transfer market, adding players to their squad from the big European leagues.
We are talking some of the biggest names in football, with Cristiano Ronaldo joining Al Nassr and Neymar joining Al Hilal.
Sadly, Neymar has recently picked up a long term injury and will miss the game but there are still plenty of stars on both teams.
Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Aleksandar Mitrović, and Yassine Bounou are all likely to start for Al Hilal, with both Neves and Milinković-Savić in the prime of their careers.
In addition to Ronaldo, Al Nassr can call upon the services of Sadio Mané, Seko Fofana, Otávio, Aymeric Laporte, Marcelo Brozović, and Talisca.
This is truly going to be a Riyadh Derby for the ages, with the teams packed with top quality players and both sides aiming to gain an advantage in the title race.
If we look at the recent fixtures between the teams, it is Al Hilal who have had the better of the proceedings, beating Al Nassr 11 times in their last 23 meetings in all competitions.
Al Hilal are undefeated in 4 of their 5 most recent games against Al Nassr, winning 3 of the matches, one of which ended 4-0 in their favour in the Saudi Pro League back in March 2022.
However, it is Al Nassr who have enjoyed the most recent success, beating Al Hilal 2-1 in the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup final, which was played in the King Fahd Stadium, Taif.
The match ended 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes but Ronaldo struck in the 8th minute of extra time to win the trophy for Al Nassr.
So, revenge will be on the agenda for Al Hilal and they are undefeated in each of the last 3 matches against Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Al Hilal have won 18 of the past 27 meetings between the teams in the Saudi Pro League, with Al Nassr winning only 9 times.
That shows Al Hilal as the dominant force in the Riyadh Derby league encounters but it is a former Al Nassr player, Majed Abdullah, who is the all time top goal scorer in the derby.
Abdullah scored 21 times in the Riyadh Derby for Al Nassr and had a tremendous record of 189 goals in 194 appearances for the club between 1977 and 1998.
Tonight’s MVP ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/EBegnYQbBh— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) November 27, 2023
Tonight’s MVP ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/EBegnYQbBh
Abdullah also scored 72 times for Saudi Arabia and is the top scorer for his country.
The two main strikers going head-to-head in the Riyadh Derby this season are Aleksandar Mitrović, who has 11 league goals and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 15 league goals.
Their performance will have a significant impact on the outcome of the upcoming Riyadh Derby.